The U.S. Beats, and So Does Merck

Yesterday, I suggested in this column that disappointing results from Apple (NAS: AAPL) and Amazon were likely to weigh on sentiment today, but that doesn't appear to be the case this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) and the broader S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) both down just 0.1% as of 10:10 a.m. EDT.

The macro view
It's a beat for the U.S. economy! The U.S. Department of Commerce released GDP figures this morning, and it turns out the economy grew at a 2% annualized rate in the third quarter, which compares favorably with economists' consensus growth estimate of 1.8%. Consumers did their part, accounting for the bulk of the increase in GDP: Personal-consumption expenditures rose 2%, while spending on long-lasting goods increased by a vigorous 8.5%. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett nailed it on Wednesday when he told CNBC that "we're still inching ahead, but we're inching."

The micro view
The sole Dow component reporting today is pharmaceutical Merck (NYS: MRK) , which released results this morning. Merck earned $0.95 per share (ex-items) in the third quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92, while revenue was in line with expectations. However, this is not the kind of beat that gets investors excited, as one-time tax gains contributed significantly to the outperformance. Significantly, however, Merck narrowed its full-year forecast to a range of $3.78 to 3.82 per share, where many companies have been lowering theirs.

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The article The U.S. Beats, and So Does Merck originally appeared on Fool.com.

Alex Dumortier, CFA has no positions in the stocks mentioned above; you can follow him @longrunreturns. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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